Time Looped

149. Only Participants Can Receive Rewards



The wolf clawed at the metal scarabs circling it. In terms of size, the beast had an advantage of a hundred to one. Despite that, its attacks had no effect on the swarm of insects. Mercilessly, they would attack all unprotected areas, ripping off flesh and fur, then fly away as the wolf tried to counteract. It was a long, and definitely unappealing, process, but there could be no doubt that the swarm was winning.

Acknowledging that its claws couldn't do anything, the wolf bit on a scarab. That proved a fatal mistake. Continuing further into the creature, the insect did far more damage than all the rest could do on the outside. Within seconds, the wolf was spinning on the floor in pain. A few more and it had stopped breathing.

"Okay," Will said, observing from a distance. Luke was definitely getting a hang of things, but he remained too slow. "You can use the weapon as well."

Luke didn't say a thing. This was the fifth pack of wolves he had faced in the last hour. In terms of time for everyone else, only eight minutes had passed. He had gotten a lot better at it. The reluctance had vanished rather quickly when faced with the threat of being eaten. At some level he knew that he was unkillable, yet the moment wolves jumped at him, his instinct for survival took over. By now, the fear had greatly been reduced, though not to the point that Luke felt comfortable doing the actual killing on his own.

The mirror glowed green. Breathing heavily, Luke went up to it and tapped the surface.

 

WOLF PACK REWARD (random)

LOOP INCREASE: current loops are increased by one hour.

 

"Not bad," Will said. "You won't have to worry about the loop this way."

"I need a break," Luke said.

From Will's perspective, that was a rather undesirable outcome. The faster he could get Luke battle ready, the sooner he could start focusing on his real plan. At the same time, he realized that if he pushed the enchanter too much, the boy would break. Killing five packs was insignificant in the scale of things, but not for someone on their second loop.

"Sure," he said, hiding his reluctance. "We can take a break."

The scarabs flew back to the enchanter. The moment they got close, they closed up, turning into coins that fell on the floor, letting off the typical metallic ring. There were a lot of them, although Luke still hadn't found a way to make them large. Either that came at a later level or permanent skills were involved.

"Have any cash left?" Will asked. "Other than coins."

"A bit." Luke gave him a suspicious look.

"I know a place. Let's go." He half walked into the mirror, extending his hand, so the other could grab hold.

Moments later, they were in Will's usual cafe. The place was empty, as always, and the barista kept inquiring why they weren't at school. The mousse was good, though it tasted a bit blander than Will remembered it to be. Either being a reflection limited his sense of taste, or they had stumbled on a really bad batch.

"My brother went through all this?" Luke asked, looking at the assortment of fancy pastries. Although he had agreed to pay for them, he remained reluctant to have a bite.

"Yep. Your sister as well." Will scooped up the last of the mousse from his cup. "You sure you don't want yours?"

Luke glanced at it for a moment, then shook his head. That only encouraged Will to swap the cups and continue eating.

"When will I be done fighting wolves?" he asked.

"When you can handle them without my help."

"I can do that now," Luke protested.

"Then what are we doing here?"

"I've been fighting non-stop for—" the boy stopped.

"Twenty wolves," Will interrupted, still eating. "Half of them trapped and a quarter killed by me. When you can clear a pack without thinking about it, then we get to move on to something else."

"What?" Luke's curiosity kicked in.

"If I tell you, you'll start thinking about it and get careless." Will finished the second chocolate mousse. "Take a few more loops, get used to eternity, then we take on the next step of the tutorial."

"And then we kill him?"

The question was sudden, causing even the barista to pause what he was doing in order to better listen in. Luke, if nothing else, was very determined. Will had seen the same quality back in his original time segment. The quality was a double-edged sword, but it also was the driving force that ensured that Luke would push on to the end.

"Let's just finish the tutorial first."

Two fifty-dollar bills were placed on the table. It was highly questionable how a child would have so much cash on hand. Then again, the barista wasn't the kind of person to ask, especially if there was no indication any of the high-schoolers would ask for change.

"Let's go," Luke stood up.

"You sure?" Will grabbed a chocolate croissant. Thanks to his sense of air currents, he could see that Luke was far from being used to eternity. Thankfully, he was willing to learn.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Wolf battles continued for the next forty minutes. Progress was slow and erratic. There would be times when Luke would deal with all the wolves virtually on his own, and others in which Will had to step in from the start. Obviously, one wasn't able to improve on determination alone.

As the loops passed by, Luke quickly got accustomed to killing wolves. Observing him grow, Will made comparisons with his own introduction into eternity. At the time, the rogue had felt that he'd won battles by the skin of his teeth. Now, he could see eternity's influence in it all. It was more than a survival instinct, more than getting accustomed to death. The greatest changes occurred between loops. One loop a person would be wracked with guilt and uncertainty, only to completely lose them in the next.

After three loops, Luke had reached a point in which he could dispatch wolves without assistance. Another loop and barely broke a sweat.

"Dark vision," Luke said as he claimed his first permanent reward. "How often does that happen?"

"One in a thousand," Will replied.

"Nice. Let's go to the next spot."

"No more wolves."

Will would have preferred that they could spend a few more loops wolf hunting, but time was of the essence; plus, there was no telling what Danny had been doing in the meantime. Will had avoided being in the same spot as his former classmate. Eternity didn't like it when two people of the same class were in contact with one another, but even if that wasn't the case, he didn't feel ready for an open confrontation.

"We're moving to the next step," the rogue said.

Luke remained deathly calm. Even his breathing had barely increased.

"I'm ready for the tutorial boss?" the enchanter asked.

"No. Before that, you'll have to face yourself."

Will entered the mirror, then reached back so Luke could grab hold. With the mirrored room in the real world left behind, the two boys were back to the stillness of the mirror realm. Normally, they'd just head to another mirror with a link to the imprisoned wolves. Finding them was easy. Despite the initial shock, Will had gotten used to looking through the layers in eternity in order to see which mirrors touched the wolf cubes. He had even almost gotten to admire the chaotic order of it all. In isolation, each of the prisons was a cube. At the same time, they touched hundreds, even thousands, of mirrors. According to the guide, these two rules were unbreakable; they were also incompatible, but only in the real world. When it came to eternity, shapes shared completely different properties, making them simultaneously precise and amorphous.

"Merchant," Will said.

The entity emerged with its usual flare, bowing as it did.

"Two eight-hour extensions," the rogue ordered.

The price was exorbitantly high, effectively the majority of what Will had saved. It would be worth it, though. Once Luke dealt with his mirror image and completed the tutorial, they'd be able to amass a new supply of coins, not to mention gain new permanent skills.

"Take them," Will urged.

The enchanter did so without question. By now, he had gotten used to doing things as they came along. There were lots of questions, but they could always be answered later. And if that didn't work out, he would turn to his sister.

"What are these for?" he asked once the cubes disappeared in his hands.

"Loop extension," Will said. "They'll give you sixteen extra hours. Keep a low profile, stay out of sight, and prep for a serious fight."

"For sixteen hours?"

"The tutorials are messy. We'll do it after the arcade closes."

"Okay. What about you?"

"I'll join you when it's time." It wasn't like Will could afford a lot more loop extenders right now. "Be careful. I won't be able to watch over you all the time." He paused. "Don't get into wolf fights."

"I got it, I got it." Luke went up to the nearest mirror. "Here?"

"No." Will shook his head with a sigh.

Reaching an appropriate mirror, he pushed the enchanter out. Although initially choppy, he had done a good job teaching Luke about eternity. From here on, it was time for him to boost himself up a bit.

"I want to challenge the goblin lord," he said.

 

[Only participants can receive rewards from challenges.]

 

Messages appeared throughout eternity.

"I know." That was the downside of being a reflection. Danny had already illustrated that. In order to gain a prize, he had to party up with a participant. On the positive side, it also meant that even his temp skills remained between loops. "I just need a bit of practice."

A new mirror emerged before him, shimmering in a purple glow. Through it, Will could see a picturesque landscape full of forests, meadows, and rocky hills. It didn't take long for him to determine that he'd be going into the goblin realm again. It stood to reason.

After a few moments of reflection, Will took out the binding chain from his mirror fragment. Shortly after, he also took out a knight's sword.

 

UPGRADE

Binding chain and knight sword transformed into binding whip blade.

Damage capacity unchanged.

Binding unchanged.

 

It had been a while since Will had faced the creature. Regardless of all the skills and gear he had acquired since them, he still felt a sense of unease. That was one of the problems with memories—they always felt more dangerous than they actually were.

"Let's see how strong you are," Will whispered and walked through the mirror.

Immediately, the ground erupted a hundred feet in front of him. Dirt and soil shot out like a geyser, rising into the sky. Only, it didn't fall back down, but rather built up, forming the shape of a massive mud giant.

What the heck? Will leaped back.

This was something he hadn't seen up to now. Had eternity played a trick on him?

A battle horn sounded. It was soon followed by a dozen others. As the mud giant gained shape, the trees of the forest slid away before Will's very eyes, revealing a moderately large stone city with a massive castle in the middle of it. The clatter of armored feet combined with the grunts of goblins and squeals of hogs.

Boar riders, Will thought.

It had been a while since he had to face those as well.

As the massive iron gates swung to the side, Will readied himself. Anticlimactically, none other than a colorful squire goblin emerged. Carrying a banner, the creature made a few steps forward, looked around, then continued towards Will.

"You've got to be kidding me," Will said, gripping the hilt of his weapon. "You're my challenge?"

Barely had he said that than one of the castle's stone balconies extended. Looking closely, one could see a richly dressed goblin emerge. It wore a similar attire to what Will remembered, only this time cloaked in a cape of gold thread.

As the creature's eyes locked with Will's, sparks of lightning trickled down its cape.

So, that's your game. Will said to himself. His opponent wasn't just a goblin lord, he was an elementalist.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.